The "big project" changes

I am very tired, and I probably look it. I don't sleep well, and today I had a really tiring day at work (there is a release today, so don't tell my boss I've been blogging!). Because I am just a code-monkey, I didn't need to work over the weekend, and instead got some knitting done.

I have started a t-shirt, Green Tea (pattern: Green Gable, by Zephir Style). It is, as the name indicates, rather green, and I think it is coming on quite well. I've already knitted to it the first of the 6 balls of yarn it needs (Rowan Luxury Cotton in cabbage green). I'm really looking forward to wearing this t-shirt. The original name of the project was going to be "Green Tee", but I kept misspelling Tee as Tea so many times, that I decided to change the name. I really like how it's turning, so you can have a picture of the front lace.

Don't click on it! The image only looks ok small, it's not terribly in focus!

The keen-eyed (or the stalkers) around you might have noticed that I only have one "big" project at a time, and I have started the Green Tea before I posted some pictures of the finished Healing Cardigan. It is, as you can see, still on its way (I've made a little bit more progress since this picture, but not a lot more).



The healing cardigan is currently in a concious break, and with actual reasons, I'm not just distracted by a new shiny (well, I am, but that's not the centre of the question).
I'm not very happy with how the fit it's turning up. I am having trouble getting the neckline to close and not be too wide and, most importantly, I think the sleeves are way too small. Despite the fact that my yarn is at the moment from different dye lots (long story), there is something at the back of my head which wants me to undo the top part, undo the sleeves, and knit them again, wider. I don't really want to do that, so I'm leaving it to rest for a couple of days to clear my head from it. As well as doing the little crochet eggs, I figured I could allow myself to start the next big project, especially as producing something successful will make me feel better.
And it is. I can feel the spring green coming from the knitting onto me. It looks like the fields, the only thing it's missing is daisies. Which I might have to knit soon.

In which illnesses, albeit physical, yield something productive

I was ill on Friday. Physically ill, as opposed to normal ill, and properly ill, as opposed to almost but not quite. I spent the night being sick, and then in the morning decided to call in sick at work. I slept until past 11, which made me feel a lot better, although my tummy was a bit upset all day. As a result, I spent most of the day curled up in the sofa, sipping some ginger tea (ginger is good for upset tummies), knitting and watching Buffy. It would have been much nicer if I hadn't been ill, but it wasn't too bad. And, the day was productive!

Before Friday, I only had the cuff of the sleeves of my cardi. Now I have nearly one entire sleeve! I toyed with the idea of knitting both sleeves at the same time, but having the two on the same set of circulars proved much too complicated for me, so I got my dpns out and will knit them in the round.
This is my current progress of the sleeve:

Can you see the stitch markers? I put them as I knit every 10 stiches, and then to mark the start and end of the increase section, so I count more easily, with the aim of making an identical second sleeve (note to self: 74 rows before the start of the increase section).
I made those stitch markers, which I was curling up in the sofa. Using earring clips, some black yarn, and buttons and big "beads" from a bracelet I got as a present (I would never wear that bracelet, so I figured I could at least reuse the beads for something I would use).



I am very happy with the way they turned out, and plan to make more stitch markers! They are very simple and simplistic, I know, but they are mine, and I like them.

Pick up 148 st, p tbl

Yesterday I managed to fix the picking up of the stitches along my healing cardigan. I had to do it almost twice, as I purled normally the picked up stitches, instead of purling them through the back loop to close the gaps. There were 148 stitches to tink, and the yarn is sturdy and doesn't like to tink, but it was so worth it to purl them tbl. It looks so much better now. I'll be knitting a couple of stockinette stich rows extra to make the jacket slightly longer, but I think I can start with some of the bust increases later today. So at least one of my knits is going forward¹!



¹: Because sure as hell the rest aren't...

Ravelry to Get Knitted

This past Saturday, a bunch of us from Ravelry descended mercilessly upon Get Knitted, set up camp there, and raided their supplies (both yarn and food). It was awesome.
I was really excited by the prospect. I was too excited to be panicking about meeting new people. So I went in there, to the unknown, not afraid. I knitted, bought lots of yarn and talked to lots of people, and I didn't panic, nor had to run away and hid, nor was more ill the following day. It was one of the best things ever.

So, the actual meeting. About 30-35 people were there, some coming from as far as London¹. Everybody was really friendly and on the same wavelength. Everybody from my knitting group was there, but I didn't just talk to them: I was sociable with most people.
We had an author with us, woolly wormhead, and wyesue had brought her spinning wheel, so I was hypnotised by that for a while. I really can't remember most people's names, but one lady recommended to knit through the back loop when picking up stitches along the sock's heel gusset, to minimise the holes, so I will try that next time.
Here are some pictures of the gathering, in thumbnail version, click for full size:



²


I did quite some buying, especially because of the 10% discount, but at least I bought for 3 specific projects, rather than randomly for a stash, so it's not too bad at all.

I finally found yarn for my Jayne hat. I had been looking for non-woolly yarn in the recommended thickness (12 st/10 cm), but that is nearly impossible to find. So now I have thinner yarn which I will just use doubled. This same yarn, with a bit of blue thrown in, should allow me to do the Katamari, although I still need to learn how to crochet.

I also got yarn for my healing jacket (I've decided that that will be its role, as well as keeping me warm). I got some Rowan Summer Tweed, which looks tweedy, but it's made out of cotton and silk. It looks kind of "rough", but it is really soft. I have started the tummy stripes, but for now I can only show the yarn.


And an update on my Clapotis, which everybody liked and admired and some people have started queueing it after seeing me knit one. Go me!


I do hope Ravelry meets again. It was great.


¹ Although, that said, I *have* gone down to London before just for a pub lunch.
² I'm not very good at naming pics.